Abstract

From 2013 through 2024, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) social crisis had profound impacts on major U.S. professional sports communities. Prior crisis research has concentrated on the BLM-related player protests in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL) over momentary periods of upheaval. Based on a review of crisis response and communication literature and its application to sports, this research offers a previously missing longitudinal account of how major professional sports communities (i.e., NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, NHL, and NASCAR) responded to the BLM social crisis. It aims to offer a better understanding of community group perceptions and how they shaped the leagues’ reputation across the full social crisis lifecycle. I conducted a holistic multiple case study to uncover emergent themes within and across cases using archival data from 352 sources including peer-reviewed journals, newspaper articles, news releases, media interviews and videos, and social media posts. The cases analyzed the most salient and frequently expressed voices (e.g., sentiments, discourses, practices) for each community group (e.g., players, organizations, fans, the media, external agents) and mapped the evolution of reputational shifts over the 10-year period. Findings reveal distinct crisis response trajectory patterns for communities of sport within the network and provide insight into the dynamics of community group perceptions that shape reputation during a social crisis.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Black lives matter movement—Influence; Crisis management—United States; Professional sports—Social aspects—United States; Public relations—Professional sports—United States

Date of Award

2025

School Affiliation

Graziadio Business School

Department/Program

Business

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctorate

Faculty Advisor

Cristel A. Russell

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